It's Like Hell In Gaza

LIFE IN GAZA TODAY ~~ UPSIDE DOWN

Life Upside Down: One Year After Israel’s Winter War on Gaza

By Mohammed Omer

On Dec. 27, 2009, a year after Israel launched its “Operation Cast Lead,” Kamal Awaja touches a poster outside his family’s tent in the northern Gaza Strip town of Beit Lahia picturing his son who was killed during the 22-day assault. (AFP Photo/Mohammed Abed)



SEVENTY-EIGHT year old Mustapha Al Jamal waits, hoping his home will be rebuilt. As Jan. 4—the one-year anniversary of his loss—approached, however, when and how remained unknown. His 30-year-old son, Mohammed, is less than optimistic: he believes Israel’s siege on Gaza, approaching its fourth year, will continue for a decade. “The world has just accepted that we suffer,” he explained in an interview.

A Fateful and Fearful Day

Al Jamal’s home was destroyed during the December 2008-January 2009 Israeli assault on Gaza dubbed Operation Cast Lead. “The sound of a missile next door was at first like a warning noise,” he recalled. “I ran out of the house. One hour later I came back to a pile of rubble and ruins that used to be our home. Nothing was left standing.”
Mohammed barely escaped with his life.
Israeli F-16s had launched three missiles at the nearby home of an alleged Hamas activist. The high-powered bombs destroyed that home—as well as Al Jamal’s and others nearby. Today, the al-Nakba survivor, his wife, son and daughter-in-law and their three children remain virtually homeless. (Of his 12 sons, 6 survive, and Al Jamal has 52 grandchildren.)
“We lost everything in the house—even our identification papers to prove we are living human beings on this planet,” the family patriarch noted sadly.
In retrospect, Al Jamal admits that his family was lucky. An acquaintance of his, Zeyad Al Absi, not only lost his house in southern Gaza, but his three sons—Mohammed, 14, Ahmed, 13, and Sudki, 4—were killed and four daughters injured. His wife is now paralyzed.
“Life has turned upside down—there are no apparent human rights in this country any more,” Al Absi stated.
A recently completed investigation by the Israeli human rights group B’Tselem concluded that 1,387 Palestinians were killed during the Israeli assault, 773 of whom were noncombatants, including many women and children. Four Israeli civilians also lost their lives to rockets fired from The Strip, as well as nine Israeli soldiers participating in the assault, four from friendly fire. The Israeli government continues to dispute most findings.

According to Maxwell Gaylard with the U.N. Special Coordinator’s Office for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO), a year after the attack Gaza’s situation is not getting any better.
“It’s a slow, gradual deterioration in the standard of living of the people of Gaza,” he said in interview from his Jerusalem office. “Life is not getting better. It’s slowly getting worse for many people.”
As the one year anniversary approaches, Al Jamal notes little has changed.
“I survived al-Nakba in 1948 when I was 11 years old,” Al Jamal stated softly, his voice reflecting the surrealism of his situation. “Now I am living it again.”

An Epidemic of Homelessness

Today, even in the world’s most developed nations, families are losing their homes due to unemployment and economic hardship. In Gaza, homelessness is the result of two factors: the Israeli siege, and military operations—whether in massive assaults like Operation Cast Lead, or via demolitons by Caterpillar bulldozers. A family may survive the economic conditions, yet still lose its home in a missile strike, for example. Since Operation Cast Lead, the continuing Israeli siege has meant the unavailability of critical building supplies needed to rebuild hope and promise a life of future normalcy.
Most Gazan families made homeless by military attack, demolition or other means find themselves—if lucky—housed together in a single room. Not only is privacy nonexistent, but the crowded conditions may bring back memories of previous imprisonment. This is especially difficult on the most vulnerable: the young, elderly and infirm.
One year after the Israeli assault, the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) announced that it had rebuilt the first house in Gaza Strip. UNRWA operations directorJohn Ging handed it over to the Majed Al Athamna family, whose apartment building in northeastern Gaza’s Abed Rabbo neighborhood had been destroyed during Operation Cast Lead.
Since more conventional building materials are not available thanks to the Israeli blockade, the new dwelling is made of mud brick, similar to the adobe bricks used in centuries past.

Al Jamal wonders if these houses are considered an appropriate solution for Gazans. “Are we going to go back to the 17th century?” he asked incredulously.
Asked to comment on Gazans’ perception of the new housing, UNSCO’s Gaylard laughed, then paused before replying.
“I can understand their reaction,” he said, adding, “We at the U.N. have always called for lifting the siege on Gaza. “Israel and the international community have a responsibility to lift the siege.”
Like many in Gaza, Al Jamal is frustrated with the international community and its diplomatic efforts. “Turkey pledged millions of tons of cement, and Egypt, our neighbor, is the biggest steel producer in the Middle East!” he exclaimed. “Why are we still homeless?
“The siege is eating us up,” he continued. “There is no respect or compassion for children or senior citizens.”
Al Jamal then defiantly challenged Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas and his Hamas counterpart, Ismail Haniyeh, to come and live for just three days as he has lived for a year and counting.
“Of course, they would never accept, when they have cars, bodyguards, open crossings and free mobility,” he admitted bitterly.
With a shortage of housing, decent food and other basic necessities, disease and illness continue to plague the residents of the besieged Gaza Strip. The quality of life for people suffering from chronic illnesses continues to decline. The Ministry of Health in Gaza warned in the press that 141 much-needed medicines no longer are available.
According to Dr. Munier Al Barsh, an official with the Ministry, the most critically needed medicines are those used in renal dialysis, for the treatment of bones\ injuries, nutritional fluids, and hydration for babies in the nurseries.

“We have 10 medicines that must last for three months. We should have at least 26 different types,” he noted, imploring the international community to assist in obtaining the most vital medicines.

A Rumbling Volcano

“Humanity is finished,” responded Zeyad Al Absi, the man who lost his home and sons in Israel’s assault, when asked about his hopes for the future.
“Only the language of power speaks—Israel’s power,” he added hopelessly. “I was encouraged by the Oslo agreement, but Oslo is nothing more than empty words. I have lost everything, including my children and home. Israel violated my privacy and my family. One minute I was watching TV on the 29th of December. The next, I saw my children torn to pieces, their flesh scattered around the rubble and street.”
Asked if he feels hatred toward Israel, Al Absi warned that Israel’s continued actions are cultivating an anger and despair in Gaza far beyond what has ever been felt before.
“I am a peaceful man,” the bereaved homeless father explained. “But if I had had a bomb then [during Operation Cast Lead], I would have wiped out the world. Life is worthless when I have to collect the flesh of my children with my bare hands.”
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